Henry on 744

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) Outgoing Gov. Brad Henry is renewing his opposition to a state ballot measure to boost funding for common education, saying its approval would devastate the rest of state government.

A longtime supporter of public education, the term-limited Democrat told about 200 business leaders at a chamber luncheon Wednesday that it was a difficult personal choice to publicly oppose State Question 744.

From a policy standpoint, Henry said the decision was a "no-brainer."

The proposed constitutional amendment would require the state within three years to meet the regional average of per-student spending in six surrounding states.

Estimates on how much the proposal would cost the state over the next three years range from about $900 million to $1.7 billion.